Pasta with pumpkin cream sauce and crispy sage recipe

A Jersey girl through and through, Carolyn grew up spending her summers down in Avalon, NJ. As a young girl, she often cooked alongside her mother and grandmother, whose seafood creations instilled a true passion for fresh, local produce...

Fall comfort food at its finest

A wonderful, comforting pasta dish with all the flavors of the season!

Delight family and friends tonight with a warm bowl of this pasta with pumpkin cream sauce and crispy sage! There's nothing phony here... just good wholesome ingredients coming together to make a simple, meatless pasta dish for any night of the week! Easily on the table in under 30 minutes... and perfect for company too!

Directions:

Coat the bottom of a small frying pan with olive oil and place it over high heat. After about 1 minute, add fresh sage strips (in batches) and lightly fry until fragrant and crispy, about 1-2 minutes. (It should not be dark brown or burnt, when it gets too dark the sage becomes bitter.) Remove fried sage and place it on paper towels to drain.

In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Once bubbling, add garlic and cook about 1-2 minutes.

Add pumpkin to the saucepan with the garlic and mix well. Stir in cream, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon. Once lightly bubbling around the edges and warmed through, turn off the heat and stir in the cheese. Taste and add additional salt if needed.

Place pasta in bowls and ladle pumpkin cream sauce over the top. Garnish bowls with the crispy fried sage, toasted walnuts, additional freshly grated cheese and pinch of salt if desired. Serve warm.

TIP

A small pinch of kosher or grated sea salt on top of this dish, gives it a nice finishing touch. If you plan to do this, just be sure not to oversalt the sauce itself.